Drum louver



Dec. 12, 1961 J. M. DRUMMOND DRUM LOUVER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 14.1959 INVENTOR mpzu/wvavo [BY Him.

Dec. 12, 1961 J. M. DRUMMOND DRUM LOUVER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 14.1959 INVENTOR. 19/155 M. DPU/V/Vd/YD Uited States Patent 3,012,494 DRUMLOUVER James M. Drummond, Royal Oak, Mich., assignor to Thermotank,Inc., Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed July 14, 1959,Ser. No. 826,988 4 Claims. (CI. 98-40) The present application relatesto a drum louver and it particularly relates to an extruded aluminumdrum louver.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide a simplebarrel louver construction which may be readily made from extrudedelements, and particularly extruded aluminum elements, and which may besimply installed.

Another object is to provide a novel louver construction in which thevarious elements thereof may be readily assembled, mounted andmaintained, and which will have an attractive appearance and will notdisfigure a wall or ceiling.

Still further objects and advantages will appear in the more detaileddescription set forth below, it being understood, however, that thismore detailed description is given by way of illustration andexplanation only and not by way of limitation, since various changestherein may be made by those skilled in the art without departing fromthe scope and spirit of the present invention.

In accomplishing the above objects it has been found most satisfactoryaccording to the present invention to provide a barrel structure whichmay be conveniently formed of extruded sections, which barrel sectionmay have a plurality of adjustable swinging transverse louvers arrangedalong the length thereof.

The side or hearing elements may consist of extruded strips which can bereadily mounted or positioned on a wall or ceiling.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists ofthe novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts ashereinafter more specifically described, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein is shown an embodiment of the invention,but it is to be understood that changes, variations and modificationscan be resorted to which fall within the scope of the claims hereuntoappended.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters denote correspondingparts throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of the preferred form of barrellouver, according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view on an enlarged scale as comparedto FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view upon an enlarged scale as compared to FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a transverse longitudinal sectional view taken upon the line4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view.

FIG. 6 is a detailed end perspective separated view, showing theconstruction of one of the end corners of the drum louver.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 6, the drum louver has the side and end mountingflanges A and B which enable it to be mounted upon a ceiling structureC.

The side flanges carry the elongated longitudinal bearing and sealingstrips D and the end sealing strips E. The rotatable drum louver itselfis formed of the side, partly cylindrical elements F, which are closedat their ends by the end walls G having the hinge mounts H.

Extending between the side members F are the swinging vane members Iwhich are hingedly mounted at K. As indicated by the dot and dash linesat L in FIG. 2, the drum louver may be swung in either direction, as mayalso the transverse vanes J.

' 3,012,494 C Patented Dec. 12, 1961 Referring particularly to FIG. 2,the side sealing contact flange members A consist of extruded sectionswith a base flange 10, an inwardly extending lip 11 and a Z member 12(see FIG. 2).

The 2 member 12 will form a recess for carrying the inner end 13 of alongitudinal bearing and sealing strip D (see FIG. 2).

The base member 10 also has the outer upwardly extending flange 14 andthe inside upwardly extending flange 15 to contact the lower face 16 ofthe ceiling C (see FIG. 2).

The flanges 10 are held on to the ceiling C by means of the screws orbolts 17. The semi'cylindrical members F, which extend the full lengthof the drum louver, are shown in cross section in FIG. 2 and in theirextruded form in perspective in FIG. 6.

Referring to FIG. 6, it will be noted that it consists of asemi-cylindrical portion 39 and a flat inside section 31, which areextruded, together with the recessed beaded inside edge 32, the flangedoutside beaded edge 33 and the base grooved corner 34.

The openings which are formed by the extrusions at 35 in the bead 32, at36 in the head 33 and at 37 in the corner 34, receive the attachmentscrews 38, 39 and 40 respectively, which are inserted through theopenings 41, 42, and 43 in the end plate G.

These beads 35 and 36 not only form convenient smooth edges for thewalls 30 and 31, but they also are a means for making the attachments,as indicated in FIG. 6.

It will be noted that the upper edge of the semi-cylindrical wall F hasan outstanding flange 44 which will limit the movement of the drumlouver when it stops against the 2 member 12 at the extreme swingingposition.

The end plates G (see FIG. 4) carry the bolts 50, forming part of thehinging structure H. These bolts 50 extend through the sealing pads B,then through the flanges 51 and are held in position by the nuts 52screwed on to the threaded shanks 53.

The transverse swinging vanes J are also of extruded material and havethe lower enlarged rounded edges 54 (see FIG. 4) and the upper groovedcurved cylinder portions 55 forming part of the hinge structure K.

Projecting into the ends of the members 55, as shown best in FIG. 2, arethe short screws 56, which have the filister heads 57 and which arescrewed through the upper portions of the walls 31.

The extruded end mounting frame members B (FIG. 4) include inner flanges51 which project upwardly from the base plate 60, outside flanges 61which position the ceiling strip 62, and a portion '63 forming aninwardly projecting lip which corresponds in part with the portion 12 ofeach side frame member.

The screws 64 extend through the base flanges 60 into the ceiling C tohold the flanges in position.

It will be particularly noted that each and every element is of strudedstock and the flanges A and B, the side section F, the end plates G andthe vanes I are all produced in continuous lengths and then cut to size.

The arrangement may be readily connected or assembled by the screws 38,39, 40, 50 and 57 after the various extruded lengths are cut to thedesired size for the drum louver to be employed.

The sealing strips or plates D, E and 62 and 63 are readily applied andheld in position by the flanges. The flanges A and B themselves are heldtogether by the oblique corner strips 65 (see FIG. 3) which fit withinthe lips formed by the portions 63 of the end frame members and theportions 12 of side frame members.

As many changes could be made in the above drum louver, and many widelydifferent embodiments of this invention could be made without departurefrom the scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter containedin the above description shall be interpreted as illustrative and not ina limiting sense.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of theinvention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, what isclaimed is:

1. A directionally adjustable air outlet including a four sided mountingframe consisting of pairs of side and end members adapted to be securedto a supporting surface around the border of an air discharge openingtherein, said frame end members being of extruded section and eachhaving a base portion disposed parallel to the supporting surface andinner and outer flanges extending normal to the base portion, the innerflange being adapted to project into said opening and the outer flangeextending toward said surface; said frame side members being of extrudedsection and each having a corresponding base portion, inner and outerflanges extending toward said surface, and said base portion having aninner edge which projects Within said opening; a sealing strip carriedby the side and end frame members within the said outer flanges thereoffor engagement with the supporting surface around the opening therein; anozzle assembly consisting of pairs of side and end panels, said sidepanels each having an outer cylindrical segment wall portion and aninner plane surface wall portion, means connecting said side and endpanels together with the inner side wall portions in spaced relation toform an air passage in combination with said end panels, the inner wallportions of each side panel merging with the outer cylindrical segmentwall portion thereof at the discharge end of said passage; meanssecuring said nozzle assembly to the frame between the said innerflanges of the frame end members for pivotal movement on an axisequidistant from said cylindrical segment wall portions of the nozzleassembly and also from the said inwardly projecting edge of the sideframe members; sealing means carried along the said inner edge of eachside frame member for engagement with the cylindrical segment wallportions of the nozzle assembly; sealing means interposed between theend frame inner flanges and the nozzle assembly end panels; and stopmeans formed integrally with the nozzle assembly side panels forengagement with one of the frame side members for limiting movement ofthe nozzle assembly about the pivotal axis thereof.

2. A directionally adjustable air outlet according to claim 1 furthercharacterized by each of said frame side and end members including a lipspaced from the said base portions thereof and directed toward the saidouter flange thereof, and clip means engageable with said lip portionsfor retaining said side and end frame members in assembled relation.

3. A directionally adjustable air outlet according to claim 1 whereinthe said means for connecting the side and end panels of the nozzleassembly comprise connecting elements engageable in each end of one ofthe side panels at three points defined by extruded apertures formed inthe side panels at the intersection between the inner and outer wallportions thereof, at the discharge end of the air passage in the nozzleunit and at the end of each of said wall portions which lies at theinlet side of said air passage.

4. A directionally adjustable air outlet having a rectangular frameconsisting of pairs of side and end members adapted to be secured to asupporting surface around the border of an air discharge openingtherein; a nozzle assembly consisting of pairs of side and end panels,said side panels each having an outer cylindrical segment wall portionand an inner wall portion, means connecting the side and end panelstogether with the inner side portions in spaced relation and forming anair passage in combination with said nozzle end panels, the inner andouter wall portions of each side panel being in spaced relation to eachother at the inlet end of said passage and merging together at thedischarge end thereof; means securing said nozzle unit to said frame forrocking adjusting movement on an axis parallel to the frame,intermediate the frame side members and intermediate the outercylindrical segment wall portions of the nozzle side panels; sealingmeans between said frame side and end members and said nozzle assembly,and a sealing strip carried by said frame for engagement with thesupporting surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,588,626 Fourtier Mar. 11, 1952 2,632,375 Stair Mar. 24, 1953 2,696,087Luecke Dec. 7, 1954 2,755,729 Galbraith July 24, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS580,093 Great Britain Aug. 27, 1946 OTHER REFERENCES Catalogue by LonSommerfeld, Inc., 1953 (page 4 only).

